Denmark: UN slams intersex genital mutilation – again!

Photo: Nonviolent Intersex Protest #6 + Open Letter vs. 6th I-D$D, Rigshospitalet et al., Copenhagen 01.07.2017

Press Release by StopIGM.org, 13.11.2017:

The UN Child Rights Committee condemns involuntary genital surgery on intersex children in Denmark as a “harmful practice” (just like FGM), dismissing Government claims Denmark would only be “helping intersex children”. Denmark was already reprimanded by the UN Committee against Torture in 2015. Intersex NGOs demand immediate legislative action to protect intersex children.

During its 76th Session in Geneva, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) examined intersex genital mutilation in Danish University Children’s Hospitals. The Committee’s now published “Concluding observations” dated 26 October 2017 (= Intersex Awareness Day) unmistakably condemn “ongoing surgical interventions on intersex children” the lack of “redress to the child victims of such treatment”, and the lack of “adequate counselling and support for families with intersex children” (CRC/C/DNK/CO/5, full reprimand + download see below).

On the same counts, Denmark has already been reprimanded by the UN Committee against Torture (CAT), which in 2016 condemned unnecessary genital surgery on intersex children as a “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” falling under the prohibition of torture.

So far, not only the Danish Government, but also most Danish National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are still feigning ignorance of the human rights implications of intersex genital mutilation, or even continue to defend IGM, for example when questioned by CRC in Geneva:

“Denmark plans to continue this practice of helping intersex children through genital surgery” (Danish UN Delegation, Geneva 15 June 2017)

International intersex NGO StopIGM.org and Danish intersex advocate Ditte Dyreborg (EAHOO) provided CRC with evidence of the ongoing practice in public children’s hospitals allover Denmark and of the involvement of Danish doctors in international IGM Networks.

Intersex advocates warmly welcome these renewed strong reprimands for Denmark – and demand immediate action!

Daniela Truffer (StopIGM.org): “Governments and parliaments must finally introduce effective legislation to end intersex genital mutilation on the public health system. Perpetrators must be prosecuted and punished. IGM survivors must get equal access to redress and justice.”

We particularly appreciate that the Committee unmistakably considered IGM in Denmark as a “harmful cultural practice” (art. 24 (3) CRC) – just like female genital mutilation (FGM) –, and explicitly obliged Denmark to

“undertake investigation of incidents of surgical and other medical treatment of intersex children without informed consent and adopt legal provisions in order to provide redress to the child victims of such treatment, including adequate compensation” (CRC/C/DNK/CO/5, para 24 (c))

Intersex genital mutilation (IGM) is a serious violation of non-derogable human rights and MUST STOP!

Kind regards

Daniela Truffer, Markus Bauer / StopIGM.org       Ditte Dyreborg / EAHOO
 

Denmark: Full Binding CRC76 Intersex Recommendations
>>> Download: CRC/C/DNK/CO/5, 26 October 2017, on intersex: para 24
>>> Transcript + Video: Denmark questioned over IGM – Gov denies
>>> Intersex Genital Mutilation in Denmark – Thematic NGO Report: PDF
>>> IGM in Denmark – Government Fails to Act, NGO Update: PDF

 
D.  Violence against children (arts. 19, 24 (3), 28 (2), 34, 37 (a) and 39)

[…]

Harmful practices [art. 24 (3)]

24. In view of ongoing surgical interventions on intersex children, the Committee recommends that the State party:

   (a)  Ensure that no one is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment during infancy or childhood, guarantee bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination for the children concerned and provide families with intersex children with adequate counselling and support;

   (b)  Develop and implement a child rights-based health-care protocol for intersex children, setting out the procedures and steps to be followed by health teams;

   (c)  Undertake investigation of incidents of surgical and other medical treatment of intersex children without informed consent and adopt legal provisions in order to provide redress to the child victims of such treatment, including adequate compensation;

   (d)  Educate and train medical and psychological professionals on the range of sexual and related biological and physical diversity and on the consequences of unnecessary surgical and other medical interventions for intersex children.

>>> Intersex Genital Mutilation in Denmark: 2016 CRC Report (PDF)
>>> IGM in Denmark – Government Fails to Act: 2017 CRC Update (PDF)
>>> Transcript + Video: Denmark questioned over IGM – Gov denies
>>> CRC76 > Denmark: Intersex children abused as cannon fodder for LGBT politics
>>> CRC76 > UN Press Release calls IGM survivors “transsexual children” 
>>> CRC76 > Intersex: Misrepresenting Genital Mutilation as “Health Care”

>>> Intersex human rights at the UN are under attack!!!

• “Harmful Medical Practice”: UN, COE, ACHPR, IACHR condem IGM
• 28 UN Reprimands for Intersex Genital Mutilations – and counting …
• UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (CRC): IGM = Harmful Practice + Violence
• UN Committee against Torture (CAT) 2015: IGM = Inhuman Treatment or Torture
• UN Women’s Rights Committee (CEDAW): IGM = Harmful Practice
• UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): Violation of Integrity
• UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) to examine IGM Practices
• CAT 2011: Germany must investigate IGM practices and compensate survivors!

Intersex Genital Mutilations • 17 Most Common Forms
Human Rights Violations Of Children With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM – Historical Overview • What is Intersex? • How Common are IGMs?
>>> Download PDF (3.65 MB)     >>> Table of Contents